Highland Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL)

Highland Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,425 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Estée Lauder Companies were worth $6,579,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new position in Estée Lauder Companies in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 1,900.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 280 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Estée Lauder Companies by 82.2% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $115.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Estée Lauder Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $101.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Estée Lauder Companies from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.71.

Estée Lauder Companies Stock Performance

EL opened at $145.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $142.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.30. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.22 and a 1 year high of $260.46. The stock has a market cap of $52.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.07.

Estée Lauder Companies (NYSE:EL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.19 billion. Estée Lauder Companies had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The business’s revenue was down 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Estée Lauder Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 29th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 28th. Estée Lauder Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 203.08%.

About Estée Lauder Companies

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc manufactures, markets, and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products worldwide. It offers skin care products, including moisturizers, serums, cleansers, toners, body care, exfoliators, acne care and oil correctors, facial masks, and sun care products; and makeup products, such as lipsticks, lip glosses, mascaras, foundations, eyeshadows, nail polishes, and powders, as well as compacts, brushes, and other makeup tools.